Sanchi (24MAR)

Sanchi is home to another impressive Buddhist artifact that was 'lost' British military personnel re-discovered it in 1818. The site is a series of Stupas, monastaries and temples built on a hill. I spotted them quickly from the bus, when we pulled into town, which made me surprise they could have been lost. However the whole area, which is now farmed, was apparently forest when it was re-discovered, and the hill and Stupas were covered in trees as well. Unfortunately, after re-discovery, the site was looted until 1881 and not fully restored until 1919. With the history of looting and restoration work, I was left wondering what was authentic and what had been restored. The Stupas were stone domes of various sizes surrounded by stone fences. The primary stupa had entrances at the four cardinal directions with large, intricately carved gates, while stupa three did not have the gates but did have carvings on each of the stone fence posts. We spend some time touring the hilltop in the morning, before heading to the museum at the base of the hill, which provided good photos and information from the early days of discovery and restoration.

In the afternoon, we met up with a local man that had offered to show us some of the 'off the tourist trail' sites. This guy was quite a character and shared many local remedies and lore with us. He had remedies to rid you of everything from Mosquitoes and snakes to heart disease.
For instance regarding Peacocks: Seeing one brings good luck and their feathers repel snakes. Put a feather above your door and snakes cannot enter. Wear a feather and they will not bite you. Also, peacocks don't have sex. The male bird cries, the female drinks the tears and out pops a fertalized egg.
For baldness he recommended a concoction of onion, lemon and curd, which should massaged into the scalp like shampoo once a week and 'your forest will grow again.' He himself claimed to have gone bald twice before and when we met him he had a nice head of black hair... and a gray beard, so maybe the concoction does something for graying as well.
For delivering a baby, put a peice of bamboo on a woman's abdomen and the baby will pop right out. However, he warned that if you didn't remove the bamboo imediately after delivery, she is likely to push out all her internal organs as well.
Honey can be used to cure/cleanse the eyes, but it must be pure, don't pour grocery market stuff in your eyes. I wouldn't try it on my eyes, but honey is a natural anti-bacterial product and was used in ancient Egypt on open wounds and is even recommended today for cold sores. He then added that onions work as well, but are much harder on your eyes. Uh yeah!

He was a smoker and told us that eating blackberries after the monsoon season clears your lungs out so you could smoke freely again.

For heart disease he recommended boiling the bark from one of the trees we passed for thirty minutes and then drink the water which would be red in color and would cleanse your heart.

For the mosquitoes he recommended an herb he picked along the trail. It was aromatic and smelled quite nice, but it was also covered in ants so it wasn't going to repel all insects.

We spent a good three hours with him and he talked nearly the whole time about local cures, his childhood in the area, and his tea stand that was destroyed by local officials to make room for other developments below Sanchi. He was quite proud of his tea and carried some along with him, which smelled like chocolate. This was a sore point with him and he was quite disappointed in the government and really had no faith in any establishments in India, from the government to the religious leadership and caste. He also showed us a area with petorglyphs, which he estimated at 2500 years old. They were interesting and could have been ancient relics, however they were just off a dirt road in the village and could have been the work of board kids a decade ago as well. We took pictures all the same, and then moved onto another oddity. A horse had been sculpted out of a rock and left unfinished on the side of the hill. He admitted he did not know the age or aim of the sculpture but had a story all the same. He claimed a king had come to see the stupas of Sanchi and left his horse on the hill to wait. The king was so impressed by the Stupas, that he failed to return and his faithful steed waited until it turned to stone.

At the end of the evening we walked into town and sat down at a local shop where he had the proprietor make some of his chocolate tea. It was quite nice, and I could see why he would have had a steady customer base at his old Tea Stand. After tea, we bid him farewell and in the morning we were off to Orchha.